Henri ...snif.....snif.....Matisse, 2nd grade

Each year I teach Matisse at the end of the year to my second graders. I save it for the end of the year because the flowers are blooming in the spring and I have so many colored paper scraps that I need to use up! We talk about how Henri still contniued to cut paper even while he was in a wheel chair and how we can remain artists all of our lives. Last spring I attended a wo

rkshop at the Indianapolis Museum of Art and the instructor shared with me that there would be an Matisse exhibit this fall. She said that children's artwork would be a part of the exhibit. When I told her my 2nd graders had just finished their Matisse lesson she asked me to save them for the museum's exhibit. I did and I was so excited for my students! They made such beautiful still life paper cuttings. Well, the information about the exhibit came this fall and the museum restricted the dimensions of the artwork so none of my student's work was submissable! Grrrrr! I was so disappointed. Thanfully my students knew nothing about my plan. I featured their work on the bulletin board outside of the art room and they were "happy campers". Live and learn.